James Forsyth

James Forsyth is Political Editor of the Spectator. He is also a columnist in The Sun.

This lockdown comes at a high political cost

7 November 2020 9:00 am

Keir Starmer has his first attack line of the next general election campaign. He will say that England’s second lockdown…

Boris can't afford a third lockdown

6 November 2020 3:49 am

Boris Johnson is holding a press conference at 5 p.m. on the new England-wide lockdown. This follows last night’s vote…

Johnson lays out the lockdown exit strategy

3 November 2020 4:20 am

Boris Johnson’s statement to the House of Commons this afternoon was a reminder of how much more difficult this second…

Why a new lockdown is so difficult for Boris Johnson

1 November 2020 3:27 am

Boris Johnson had set his face against an England-wide lockdown. He rejected the idea when Sage proposed it back in…

What will post-pandemic politics look like?

31 October 2020 9:00 am

A few days ago, I came across a group of Tory MPs in a House of Commons corridor looking rather…

The challenge the Tories face after the pandemic

30 October 2020 3:50 am

After the last few years of political turmoil, Westminster can’t break the habit of waiting for the latest poll to…

Boris Johnson’s high-risk Brexit strategy

24 October 2020 9:00 am

There’s a reason why No. 10 is always so inclined to ratchet up the tension in any given scenario. Downing…

How will Number 10 deal with Joe Biden?

24 October 2020 12:23 am

Donald Trump may have turned in a more effective debate performance last night, but Joe Biden is still the favourite…

Why No. 10 thinks it has the negotiating edge on Brexit

22 October 2020 5:40 pm

The European Council conclusions issued last Thursday were a misstep by the European Union. It is positively Carthaginian to think…

There are no good choices for Boris Johnson

17 October 2020 9:00 am

Boris Johnson used to be defined by his commitment to having his cake and eating it. But now he isn’t…

Boris's Covid balancing act is getting harder

16 October 2020 2:18 am

I’m pro-cake and pro-eating it’, Boris Johnson used to quip. But now he is in a hideously difficult position as…

Divided nation: will Covid rules tear the country apart?

10 October 2020 9:00 am

The Covid divide is triggering political tensions

Could local lockdowns cost Boris Johnson the north?

9 October 2020 1:45 am

When the lockdown tiers are announced, it is inevitable that huge swathes of the north will be under much tighter…

Prime ministers can’t pick the crises that define them

3 October 2020 9:00 am

In a non-Covid world, next week would be the Tory party conference. Boris Johnson would march on to the stage…

Closing time: the Tory brawl over Covid rules

26 September 2020 9:00 am

The looming Tory rebellion against the government’s Covid policy

A Brexit breakthrough could be on the cards

26 September 2020 1:18 am

Earlier this month, the prospects for a Brexit deal did not look good. The talks weren’t making progress. But there…

The Brady amendment could spell trouble for Boris Johnson

25 September 2020 3:02 am

If opposition parties back it, the Brady amendment – which calls for parliamentary votes before nationwide Covid restrictions are introduced – will…

Why No. 10 fears the second wave

19 September 2020 9:00 am

The government is bracing itself for a second wave of coronavirus. Everyone knew the autumn and winter would be more…

Has Boris done enough to halt the Tory rebellion?

15 September 2020 2:27 am

Boris Johnson has just been speaking in the Commons as the government tries to quell the Tory revolt over the…

No. 10’s no-deal dilemma

12 September 2020 9:00 am

Backbenchers are discussing when to give Downing Street a bloody nose, a former prime minister is on the warpath and…

Boris Johnson can't afford many more weeks like this one

11 September 2020 10:20 pm

Boris Johnson will address his MPs tonight – and they are in need of some soothing. This week has strained relations…

It's hard to see a way through the Brexit deadlock

11 September 2020 1:57 am

The drama has ramped up again in the Brexit talks. At today’s meeting of the Joint Committee on the Northern…

The competing theories that will decide Brexit

10 September 2020 8:29 pm

One thing is keeping the temperature among Tory MPs in check: the government’s poll lead. It’s hard to claim that…

To save the Union, negotiate Scotland’s independence

5 September 2020 9:00 am

The first cabinet meeting of the new term and Boris Johnson’s summer holiday were both dominated by one concern: how…

The biggest obstacle to a Brexit deal

4 September 2020 11:04 pm

Downing Street now thinks that the chances of a Brexit deal are down to 30 or 40 per cent, I…